Saudi and allied warplanes struck rebels in Yemen on Thursday, with Saudi Arabia threatening to send ground troops and inserting itself into its southern neighbor's civil war, potentially opening up a broader sectarian conflict in the Middle East.

The swift and sudden action involved 100 Saudi jets, 30 from the United Arab Emirates, 15 each from Kuwait and Bahrain, 10 from Qatar, and a handful from Jordan, Morocco and Sudan, plus naval help from Pakistan and Egypt, according to a Saudi adviser.

The Egyptian state news agency on Thursday quoted Egypt's Foreign Ministry as saying Egypt's support also could involve ground forces.

What do those countries have in common? They're all predominantly Sunni Muslim -- in contrast to the Houthi rebels, Shiite Muslims who have taken over Yemen's capital of Sanaa and on Wednesday captured parts of its second-largest city, Aden. The Saudis consider the Houthis proxies for the Shiite government of Iran and fear another Shiite-dominated state in the region.

"What they do not want is an Iranian-run state on their southern border," CNN military analyst Lt. Col. Rick Francona said of the Saudis.

The airstrikes did not include warplanes from the United States, which has worked with Yemeni governments -- including that of recently deposed but still battling President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi -- to go after al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In fact, a senior official in President Barack Obama's administration said "there will be no military intervention by the U.S."

But U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday did tell foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman that the United States commends the military action and is supporting it through intelligence sharing, targeting assistance and logistical support, according to a senior State Department official.

Iran upset, Houthis defiant

Houthi supreme leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi spoke live Thursday night in Yemen on al-Masirah TV, saying, "If any army try to invade our country, we will prove that Yemen will be a grave for those who invade us."

He added, "We call on the invaders to stop the attacks and if the airstrikes do not end then we will escalate in the needed manner."

Iran denounced the military intervention. Marzieh Afkham, a spokeswoman for the country's Foreign Ministry, said the operation will throw an already complicated situation into further turmoil and disrupt chances at a peaceful resolution to Yemen's monthslong internal strife. It also won't help a region already facing terrorist threats from groups like ISIS and al Qaeda, she said.

"This is a dangerous action against international responsibilities to respect countries' national sovereignty," Afkham said, according to a report in Iran's state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.

Iraq -- 60% of whose citizens are Shiite, with about 20% being Sunnis -- offered similar, albeit a bit more muted opposition to what its Foreign Ministry called "the military interference of the Gulf Cooperation Council," which is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

"We call on the Arab states to live up to their role to support national dialogue (that includes) all political forces to find a political solution for the crisis," the Iraqi ministry said.

The Houthis are a minority group that has emerged as the most powerful player in Yemen.

In addition to airstrikes, the Saudi adviser said 150,000 troops could take part in an operation in Yemen.

Targets in Sanaa, other Yemeni cities pounded

Just a day in, the coalition airstrikes are already costing the Houthis.

Hundreds of explosions ripped through Sanaa overnight, said journalist Hakim Almasmari, who is staying in the capital. The Health Ministry reported 18 dead and 24 wounded in Sanaa, the Houthi-run Saba news agency said.

While Sanaa was a focus -- airstrikes destroyed the Houthis' combat and control operations there, the Saudi adviser said -- it wasn't the only place struck. Compounds and military installations in Saada and Taiz also were targeted.

By Thursday afternoon, the Saudis controlled Yemeni airspace, the adviser said, and the military threatened to destroy any naval ships trying to enter Yemeni ports.

The military operation, dubbed al-Hazm Storm, was launched after the Houthis rebuffed an initiative by the Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said in a speech Thursday. It was done in accord with a joint Arab defense treaty, al-Arabi said.

Specifically, the strikes aim to support Hadi, who was ousted in January after talks with the Houthis faltered, but still claims to be Yemen's rightful leader.

"We are determined to protect the legitimate government of Yemen," said Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, in announcing the beginning of the military campaign. "Having Yemen fail cannot be an option for us or for our coalition partners."

Jubeir told CNN's "The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer" that Saudi Arabia was concerned that the Houthis had control over Yemen's armed forces ballistic missiles and air force, and the fact that Iran backs the Houthis was troubling.

"This is really a war to defend the legitimate government of Yemen and protect the Yemeni people from takeover by a radical militant group aligned with Iran and Hezbollah," he said.

American military commanders said they didn't know about Saudi Arabia's action until the last minute.

"We have been discussing this matter with the United States in principle for many months," Jubeir said. "We have been discussing this matter in more detail as the time approached and the final decision to take action didn't really happen until the last minute, because of circumstances in Yemen."

But at least one major player in Yemen besides the Houthis -- the General People's Congress, which is the party of longtime leader Ali Abdullah Saleh -- thinks the Saudis and their partners should stay out.

The GPC says the airstrikes have already led to civilian casualties. The best way to stop the bloodshed is to bring everyone to the negotiating table, the group said.

"The (party) expresses its rejection of the attack on the Republic of Yemen and the capital, Sanaa, considering what (is) happening is an internal affair," the GPC said. "... The General People's Congress (calls on all parties) to return to and accelerate the completion of a national, historic agreement that ... maintains unity and democracy."

Officials: Deposed President has left Yemen

Meanwhile, the last person to be elected president of Yemen -- even if he was the only one on the ballot -- is out of the country and will soon be headed to Egypt to petition Arab officials, according to Yemeni officials.

The location of Hadi had been a mystery for days, with conflicting reports about whether he'd left Yemen and where he'd gone.

Saudi Arabia's state news agency, SPA, reported that Hadi arrived Thursday in Riyadh, where he met with the Saudi defense minister and intelligence chief.

But two Yemeni officials close to Hadi said that the deposed president is in Oman. They said that his next stop, on Friday, will be an Arab League summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Meanwhile, some 3,000 to 5,000 troops from the Saudi-led coalition are expected to reach Aden, the Yemeni city that was Hadi's last known location, in the next three days, according to the officials.

Their aim is to make that port city safe enough for Hadi to return after the Arab League summit.

Whether the rest of Yemen will be secure at that point is another matter. Unfortunately, there has been little in the last few months to inspire optimism that peace is around the corner.

Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition kept up raids against Huthi Shiite rebels on Friday in support of Yemen's embattled president, who headed to an Arab summit to garner support as Iran warned the intervention was "dangerous".

Powerful explosions rocked Sanaa soon after rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi criticised the intervention as "unjustified" and called for supporters to confront the "criminal oppressive aggression".

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi arrived in Riyadh on Thursday, with officials saying he was on his way to Egypt to take part in a two-day Arab League summit at the weekend.

That was the first confirmation of Hadi's whereabouts since the rebels began advancing this week on the main southern city of Aden, where the president had been holed up since fleeing the rebel-controlled capital last month.

Their advance raised Saudi fears the Shiite rebels would seize control of the whole of its Sunni-majority neighbour and take it into the orbit of Shiite Iran.

The White House, meanwhile, voiced concerns about "reports of Iranian flow of arms into Yemen" as the Saudi-led coalition declared its first wave of strikes "successful" and vowed to prevent supplies reaching the rebels.

Speaking to reporters in the Saudi capital on Thursday, spokesman Ahmed Assiri also said that there were no immediate plans to put boots on the ground.

Saudi Arabia launched the air campaign with pre-dawn strikes on Thursday, saying it had assembled a coalition of more than 10 countries, including five Gulf monarchies.

The Saudi ambassador to the US, Adel al-Jubeir, said the coalition stood ready to do "whatever it takes" to protect Hadi's government.

On the eve of the Egypt summit, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi also declared full support for the strikes following a "coup".

But Iran reacted furiously, condemning the intervention as "a dangerous step" that violated "international responsibilities and national sovereignty".

President Hassan Rouhani said it amounted to "military aggression" and "condemned all military intervention in the internal affairs of independent nations".

Fresh strikes

Rebels' television Al-Massira said anti-aircraft defences were fired early on Friday after warplanes hit new targets around the capital.

Witnesses said airstrikes targeted Al-Samaa military base north of Sanaa, and Al-Istiqlal camp, on the western edge of the capital.

Coalition raids late on Thursday struck a rebel-held base in third city Taez, and the airport and an arms depot in the Huthis' northern stronghold.

Explosions had been heard earlier in Sanaa as warplanes pounded an air base adjacent to the international airport and other locations, an AFP correspondent reported.

Families streamed out of Sanaa seeking the relative safety of the provinces.

A health ministry official said 20 people were killed and 33 others wounded in the raids on Thursday, according to rebel-linked defence ministry website 26sep.net.

The official said the fatalities were caused by airstrikes that hit on Thursday Al-Nasr and Bani Hawat areas, north of Sanaa.
In the south, a military source said the key Al-Anad air base, north of Aden, was hit again. The base was seized Wednesday by anti-government forces.

Another raid targeted a base of special forces allied with the Huthis in Qatabah, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Aden, local residents said.

Saudi television said the kingdom had deployed 100 fighter jets to the operation, while the United Arab Emirates had committed 30, Kuwait 15 each and Qatar 10. Bahrain said it had committed 12 fighters.

Saudi Arabia had also mobilised 150,000 troops near the border.

Riyadh said it was boosting security on its borders and across the kingdom, including at the OPEC kingpin's crucial oil facilities.

Washington said President Barack Obama had authorised the "provision of logistical and intelligence support" for the campaign.
US officials told AFP Washington was looking at providing refuelling and early warning radar aircraft in support of the operation.
Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan said they were joining the campaign.

Egypt, whose government announced it was prepared to commit ground troops, said its air force and Navy were taking part in response to "demands by the Yemeni nation for the return of stability and to preserve its Arab identity".

US secretary of state John Kerry held a conference call with Gulf ministers to discuss the operation and "commended the work of the coalition taking military action against the Huthis," a senior US official said.

Yemen has been gripped by growing turmoil since the Huthis launched a power takeover in Sanaa in February.

The Saudi-led intervention triggered a sharp rise in world oil prices on fears the conflict could threaten supplies.

Yemen has been gripped by growing turmoil since the Huthis launched a power takeover in Sanaa in February.

The Saudi-led intervention triggered a sharp rise in world oil prices on fears the conflict could threaten supplies.

In the western media yes. They cringe to say 'Iranian planes' and rather 'unidentified planes' pounding the Yemeni dictator's palace, as if Israel does not know. Same with Iranian Elite Guards and prefer 'Iraqi Militia' fighting ISIL in Tikrit. You will never hear about IRAN but they are everywhere in the ME.

Muslim invaders had a policy in India, whenever they had Hindus kings supporting them in a fight against Hindu Kings, they wud fire arrows and guns on the two warring Hindu armies without making any difference between the two. The reason was simple, irrespective of who gets killed, it was going to be in favour of invaders. same is now happening with Muslims around the world. Irrespective who wins or losses, Islam is the loser in the end.

If there is a war, the US gets involved, and Iran is about to be defeated, then their best bet to get the most bang for their buck out of the conflict would be to unload all the missiles they have onto the kingdom.

If they attack Israel even if they had enough to destroy the place the jews will just regroup in the west and return some time at a later date as always.

Trying to attack US targets in the region won't accomplish anything long-term for them.